Government of India has taken several
initiatives for strengthening disaster reduction strategies. Government
of India constituted an Expert Group to examine the related
issues and evolve recommendations for improving preparedness
and prevention with respect to natural disasters caused by
earthquakes, floods and cyclones. (The
current national policy

The
Expert Group appointed by the Govt. of India examined the
current status of work being carried out in these areas:

Monitoring
of Hazards

Vulnerability
Assessment

Prediction
and Forecasting

Retrofitting
of Existing Unsafe
Structures and Buildings

Hazard
Mapping;

Disaster
Risk Assessment and Mapping

Preparation
of Building Guidelines

Assessing
Gaps in the Above.
Filling them as much as possible

The
Report has covered the following issues:

Identification
of various hazard prone areas,

Vulnerability
and Risk Assessment of Buildings,

Disaster
damage scenarios,

Technical
Guidelines for Hazard Resistant Construction of
Buildings.

Upgrading
of Hazard Resistance of Existing Housing Stock by
Retrofitting, and

Techno-Legal
Regime to be adopted

Based
on the findings as above, the Group has recommended strategies
to be adopted and Action Plan for consideration of the
Government. The Group feels strongly that these need to be
urgently considered for evolving a national policy
keeping in view of the Govt. of India's commitment tothe Yokohama Strategy for Natural Disaster Reduction.
Groups recommendations and proposed Action Plan are presented
in Chapters 10, 11, and 12. The major issues are highlighted
hereunder:

The
first and the foremost is to restructure the National
Policy on disaster management reflecting the holistic
approach involving prevention, mitigation and preparedness
in pre-disaster phase with appropriate additional
funding, along
with the so far existent policy of the post-disaster
relief and rehabilitation under crisis management.

Creating
awareness for improving preparedness amongst the
communities, using media, school education, and the
network of the building centre.

Appropriate
amendments in the legislative and regulatory
instruments (state laws, master plans, development area
plan rules, building regulations and bye-laws of local
bodies) along with strengthening of the enforcement
mechanisms at different levels.

Capacity
building at local and regional levels for undertaking
rapid-assessment surveys and investigations of the nature
and extent of damage in post disaster situations.

Conducting
micro-zonation surveys of large urban areas falling in
the disaster prone regions and preparing appropriate
preparedness and mitigation plans on an urgent basis.

To
ensure use of disaster resistant construction techniques
in all housing and other buildings to be undertaken
under the Central and State schemes.

Making
mandatory, the use of disaster resistant codes and
guidelines related to disaster resistant construction
in the houses and buildings in all sectors of the society
by law and through incentives and disincentives.

To
create a suitable institutional mechanism at
national/state level to advise and help the existing
disaster relief set up in formulation and updating of
short and long range action plans for the
preparedness, mitigation and prevention of natural
disasters. (the mechanisms suggested are establishment of
a National Scientific and Technical Committee at Central
level and Natural Disaster Mitigation Centres at State
levels).

To
promote the study of natural disaster prevention,
mitigation and preparedness as subjects in architecture
and engineering curricula.

To
create detailed database on hazard occurrences, damage
causedto
buildings and infrastructure and the economic losses
suffered and ensure its accessibility to interested
researchers for effective analysis of costs of disasters
and benefits of mitigative actions.

To
devise appropriate policy instrument and funding support for
urgent disaster preparedness and prevention actions in
high risk areas including upgrading the resistance of
existing housing and related structures and systems.

To
include R&D work in disaster preparedness, mitigation
and prevention as a thrust areaso that
adequate funds are earmarked for the schemes of R&D
organizations as well as the concerned Central Ministries
and State Governments.